Randy Meisner: A Retrospective

Randy Meisner (1946-2023)

BANDS

R.F.D. (aka Poco)
Troubadour, West Hollywood, October 24th, 1968

The band that would become known as Poco gave its second performance at the Troubadour on October 24th, 1968, billed as “R.F.D.” Richie Furay explained the meaning of the name in his autobiography, Pickin’ Up The Pieces (2006):

“For our first public appearance at the Troubadour, as one of several bands playing a Monday night hootenanny, we called ourselves Pogo. That changed for the next two shows, one at the Troubadour and the other a benefit concert at the University of Southern California….Those nights we performed as R.F.D. The name was probably inspired by Mayberry R.F.D., a television series that had aired its first episode in September; it was a spin-off from The Andy Griffith Show. In that context, R.F.D. meant ‘Rural Free Delivery.’ The letters were also [manager] Dickie’s initials—Richard Franklin Davis—but that didn’t stop some people from thinking it stood for ‘Richie Furay’s Dream.’ In some ways, this last theory was appropriate because the band was the fulfillment of the dream I’d had after the Buffalo Springfield ended.”

The review below, from the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, mentioned three songs the band played, all of which would end up on their debut album, Pickin’ Up The Pieces, released in 1969: “What A Day,” “Just In Case It Happens, Yes, Indeed,” and “Short Changed.”

“The group goes in for the high, rich harmonies that the Springfield loved, except that in the Springfield Furay was usually the highest voice and in R.F.D. the bass player, Randy Meisner, sings above him.”

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, October 30th, 1968. Clipping courtesy of Jennifer Meisner.

The last paragraph alluded to a “promised” future engagement by R.F.D. at the Troubadour. Indeed, the band did return for the promised stint on November 19th, billed once again as Pogo. This two-week engagement became legendary and put the band on the map. Read more about it here.

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Eagles
Indiana University Assembly Hall/Bloomington
September 1, 1974

The Eagles and Kansas opened for the Beach Boys at Indiana University’s Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
The concert was originally supposed to take place outdoors at the 10th Street Stadium, but was moved to an indoor venue due to rain.

Original concert poster

Indiana Daily Student, September 4, 1974 (Photo: Jim Maire):

Photo ©Neil Sharrow:

Randy backstage. Photo ©Neil Sharrow:

Eagles
Seattle Kingdome
August 6th, 1976

Linda Ronstadt and J.D. Souther opened.

The concert was attended by more than 50,000 fans. It was only the second concert in the newly-built Kingdome. The first was Paul McCartney & Wings in June.

Original concert poster

Cooper Point Journal, August 12, 1976

The sound was terrible in the giant venue unless you were seated directly in front of the stage. Fans who came to hear the Eagles’ perfect harmonies couldn’t hear them unless they were right up close. Patrick McDonald of the Seattle Times, noted that due to the size of the Kingdome and the number of people in attendance, the show resembled an “indoor Woodstock” with people milling around and friends sitting together passing pipes and joints. However, unlike Woodstock, the Kingdome was equipped with a giant video screen that hung near the stage:

“One major difference was the big screen, which did give everybody a good view of what was going on on stage. They were doing different things with than at the Wings show – split screen, dissolves, extreme close-ups, etc. It was like watching In Concert on a giant TV screen except the sound is better on TV.”

Patrick McDonald, Seattle Times, August 8, 1976

Footage

This video screen footage of the Seattle concert exists as a bootleg. Below I have included the video of Randy’s two lead-singing performances, “Midnight Flyer” and “Take It To The Limit.” Unfortunately, the beginning of “Take It To The Limit” has been edited out and it starts in the middle of the song. I have also included “One Of These Nights” because Randy was groovin’ through the whole song. A link to the entire concert is at the bottom.

“Take It To The Limit”

Listen to the end to hear Glenn Frey say “That was Randy Meisner, our bass player, hitting the high notes there. We love it every night.” Then Joe Walsh pipes in: “He can sing higher than that if he needs to.”

“Midnight Flyer”

“One Of These Nights” with groovin’ Randy and his eardrum-shattering high notes during the choruses at the end.

Watch the full concert here: https://archive.org/details/the-eagles-1976-seattle-wa

Reviews

Seattle Times, August 8, 1976
Cooper Point Journal, Evergreen State College, August 12, 1976
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Eagles
University Of Cincinnati Fieldhouse
May 8, 1975

Dan Fogelberg opened.

This was the Eagles’ third visit to the “Queen City” (and Randy’s fourth).

Cincinnati Enquirer, May 4, 1975

Eagles at UC Fieldhouse. Photo by Tom Kistner.

UC News Record May 13, 1975

Before the show, the Eagles were presented with the key to the city by Vice-Mayor William Chenault.
Eight years later, Randy, along with his mom, Emilie, was presented the key to the city during a concert in Omaha, NE at Pogo’s Electric Cowboy.

Cincinnati Herald, May 31, 1975
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Eagles
Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
July 21st, 1976

J.D. Souther opened.

Louisville Courier-Journal, July 21, 1976

The opening of the following review refers to the Elton John concert which took place the night before.

Billy Reed, columnist for the Courier-Journal, noted that all but Randy had either a beard or mustache:

“…everybody had either a beard or mustache except bass guitarist Randy Meisner, who looked downright clean in his Prince Valiant haircut. Meisner proved he was in the right place when he sang lead on ‘Take It To The Limit,” one of the Eagles’ smash hits.

Courier-Journal, August 29, 1976

The Eagles at Freedom Hall:

Courier-Journal, August 29, 1976. Photo: Bill Strode
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Eagles
Ozark Music Festival, Sedalia, MO
July 19th, 1974

The Eagles played the first night of the three-day festival held at the Missouri State Fairgrounds. Also appearing on the 19th were Bob Seger, Elvin Bishop and Joe Walsh.

Although promoters planned for only 50,000 concertgoers, it is believed that as many as 300,000 attended over the course of the weekend. Many lured by an ad for the festival in Rolling Stone magazine.

The festival was also aimed at those who may have missed Woodstock, recalled John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band:

“A lot of us missed Woodstock, including some who were there. The 1974 Sedalia concert sounded like it was going to recapture that shows legendary vibe…just like the big time, only…smaller.”
(Join Together: 40 Years Of The Rock Music Festival by Brant Marley, 2008)

Ad for the festival in Rolling Stone, July 4th, 1974.
This early ad does not mention Joe Walsh, who performed on the 19th. Bruce Springsteen was billed, but did not attend.

The Eagles at the Ozark Music Festival. Photo by Richard Galbraith.
I could find no reliable review of the Eagles’ performance.

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The Eagles on The Helen Reddy Show,
July 12th, 1973

The Eagles appeared on the third episode of The Helen Reddy Show on July 12th, 1973. Also featured were Mac Davis, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Cheech and Chong. The Eagles played two songs: “Witchy Woman” and “Tequila Sunrise.” This show marked their U.S. television debut. 1

On the heels of Reddy’s hit, “I Am Woman,” her friend Flip Wilson offered her his primetime NBC time slot while the Flip Wilson Show was on summer hiatus. The eight episodes were billed as Flip Wilson Presents The Helen Reddy Show.

Below are short clips of the Eagles’ performances of “Witchy Woman” and “Tequila Sunrise.”
(Sources: 2018 promo video for Eagles Legacy Box Set. History Of The Eagles documentary, 2013.)

Randy’s wife Jennifer, their 9-year-old son, Dana, and Jennifer’s 13-year-old niece, Bobbi, were present at the taping, which took place a month or two earlier at NBC Studios in Burbank. Below is an article from the Scottsbluff Star-Herald, Randy’s hometown paper, announcing The Helen Reddy Show appearance. Included with the article was a photo of Jennifer posing with a poster from the Eagles’ concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall in March 1973. Many thanks to Jennifer, as well as the Scottsbluff Public Library, for the complete article (Jennifer’s 50-year-old clipping had been cut off after the 3rd paragraph.) Unfortunately, the article is riddled with misspellings, the most glaring is Randy’s last name. Near the bottom, the paper quotes Jennifer as saying the Eagles had finished taping a show with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. This would have been the 90-minute In Concert special on ABC, which aired August 3rd, 1973. Note: The Eagles’ appearance on The Helen Reddy Show was shown in most areas on July 12th, however, some cities aired the show later in the week, including Scottsbluff.

Since the Eagles were not touring in July 1973, Randy was home and able to watch the show with his family.

Images

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1Although the Reddy show marked the Eagles’ U.S. television debut, this was not Randy’s first stint before television audiences. His group, The Poor, appeared on episodes of Ironside and The Name Of The Game in 1968. He also made a number of TV appearances with Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band between 1969 and 1971. In March 1973, the Eagles made two European television appearances on Popgala ’73 and BBC’s In Concert.

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